


i have been a fool for lesser things

by joshriku



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Fluff and Humor, M/M, No Plot/Plotless
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:41:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28279293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joshriku/pseuds/joshriku
Summary: The lengths Riku goes to ask out Vanitas are both pretty hilarious and pretty cringy.
Relationships: Riku/Vanitas (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	i have been a fool for lesser things

**Author's Note:**

> MERRY CHRISTMAS TO MY BEST ARCHNEMESIS LIZZA!!!!! i love you so much?????!!!!! YOURE THE BEST AND I ADORE YOU?! _! $!!!!!!????? yes i am ur secret santa as fate would have us. hehehehe. i am so happy to have written this for u i hope you like this entire au i thought about one time when iw as like "wow i think cid would be a good parental figure for vanitas" and here we are. i will one day write an actual thing for it. BUT IN THE MEANTIME I HOPE THIS BRINGS U A SMILEEEE I LOVE U LIZZAAAAAA

“Back so soon?” Leon asks when he sees Riku again. “Itʼs been a few days.”

Had it been any other person, Riku would take it as a sign to turn around and leave—clearly, he was not welcome there. But itʼs Leon, so he knows he doesnʼt mean anything bad. Riku simply shrugs. “I like learning.”

Yuffie shows herself into the room, or merely pops into existence—Riku had not seen her before. She’s truly a ninja. “ _ Suuuuuuuuure.  _ “Learning”. Is that Vanitas’ nickname? I heard  _ Van  _ was kinda it, you know, but whatever suits you.”

“I—I’m not here just for that,” Riku shakes his hands like they’re proving a point. “I’m not! I like learning about the ship! It’s good! And—”

“Relax, Riku. I’m messin’ with ya,” Yuffie grins goofily. Riku groans. “So, you staying for dinner?”

“I guess.”

“Aww, Riku. Come on. I’m sorry, I love you and your attempts at flirting with Van,” she puts an arm around his shoulders good-heartedly. “I’ll get Tifa to get you the best dinner ever.”

“Thanks.”

Leon coughs, like making himself visible again. “Vanitas and Cid are down at the workshop. You know the way. Tell us if you need anything.”

Riku smiles at him while untangling from Yuffie. “Will do. Thank you so much.”

“Go get ‘em!”

He was  _ not  _ going to, thank you again. Riku makes his way down the huge castle—it is a bit intimidating, honestly. He knows and remembers Radiant Garden pretty well from the extended period of times he’s been here, but it is entirely pleasant to not have any bad memories creeping up as he walks down.

Cid has his own workshop, and honestly, with Riku’s lack of hobbies everything seemed interesting. He forged pretty much everything—weapons Riku had never seen, armor, you name it. He also knew the Gummi ship better than anyone, and gosh, Riku really needed some improvements on his. The space Heartless are somehow way tougher than the ones on land. 

In the last year, somehow, Vanitas had decided to hang around Radiant Garden—specifically under Cid's care.  _ Something  _ about Cid had lured in Vanitas, and it seemed to be just what he needed. Riku would say he looks better than he ever has. Maybe it was related to the fact Cid is a tough-love kind of person. Probably the best role model for someone like Vanitas. 

He opens the door to the workshop and immediately alerts Cid and Vanitas. Vanitas comes from under a Gummi ship, sitting up, and grinning mischievously the second his eyes lock with Riku's. “Back so soon, Master Riku?” 

Could everyone stop pointing that out? Itʼs been a fair decent amount of time! 

“Um, yeah.”

Here is the thing: despite what everybody said, Riku  _ is  _ here to see Vanitas. Sue him, alright? There is nothing wrong with Riku trying to ask out someone. It’s just… he does not have any single plan designed to carry this out. It seems as if every time he enters this workshop, he forgets how to talk and how to do normal everyday things.

“I,” Riku continues, because Vanitas is  _ still  _ grinning like that. “I broke a thing again.”

“Youʼre gonna need to be more specific than that.”

“Well,” Riku tries again. “I broke—” 

“You  _ broke _ somethinʼ?!  _ Twice  _ this week?!” Cid enters the workshop, ready to throw hands with Riku. “I ainʼt got a damn clue on how you break  _ everythin'  _ you touch, but goddamn, kid!” 

“Look, Iʼm sorry,” he puts his hands up defensively. “Itʼs tough out there, you know? The Heartless keep destroying my weapons. I keep breaking my panel. It happens.”

“You are really one of a kind, Master Riku,” Vanitas says, shaking his head. “Your dumb ass does realize you have to stay the night here, right? We canʼt fix this immediately.”

Riku  _ was  _ aiming for that, so he hides a smile. “Yeah, no problem. You guys got some repairs to do?” 

“Yep. We got the  _ whole  _ weekend booked out,” Vanitas drags him by his arm to show him his table—full of disarmed weapons and broken artifacts. “Look at all this shit. Pretty cool, isnʼt it? I get to work here, and the old man gets to do these other ships.”

“Who the  _ fuck  _ are ye callin' old?” 

“Whoops. Sorry, old man,” Vanitas says, completely unapologetic. Cid is under a Gummi ship now, so he canʼt attack Vanitas as much. “So, basically. I work here. Old man gets the special assistants.”

“Assistants?” 

He points up, at the top of the ship. Riku turns his eyes to it, spotting a few floods here and there. “If I canʼt stop them, might as well make them useful. They reach those spots in the ship no one else can, and by doing these things they  _ don't  _ hurt me, sooo… win-win.”

“Thatʼs incredible,” Riku says, still watching the small floods passing Gummi blocks between them. “You sure they donʼt hurt?” 

Vanitas shrugs. “Who cares? Iʼm always in pain, so… this one is fine.”

“I care,” he immediately counters. Vanitas raises one eyebrow and breaks into laughter. “I  _ do, _ ” he says, more serious this time. 

“Fuck, I know. Youʼre funny for that, thatʼs why Iʼm laughing.” Vanitas wipes a fake tear out of his eye. Gosh, he really knows how to annoy Riku. “Anyway, Iʼm hungry. Letʼs get a snack.”

This counts as a date, doesnʼt it? Well, no. Riku hasn't asked him out yet. In fact, Riku doesn't know what to even say. All theyʼre doing is walking up to get food. This, by all means, is kind of normal—Riku is his friend, after all. He has no idea how he ended up befriending Vanitas, but heʼs not complaining. 

His only complaint is that he wishes they were something  _ more,  _ that's all. 

Vanitas is still talking about forging weapons. “—and I discovered some of the Unversed are actually good for forging stuff. Their attacks go well with the materials we use. Iʼm thinking the old man is pleased by this.”

Itʼs a little cute, how he tries to impress Cid despite all the teasing. Riku hums. “Hey, Iʼm glad you donʼt have to destroy them anymore.”

“My nausea is glad for that, too.” Finally, they reach the kitchen, where Tifa and Leon are already cutting up a pizza. “Oh, some good fucking food.”

Leon sighs. “Vanitas.”

Vanitas rolls his eyes. “Are you gonna scold me for using 'bad' language? I donʼt get it. Iʼm using it nicely.”

“Donʼt you know what those words mean?” 

“Not really.”

Leon stares down at him, like heʼll catch him lying. “Sure. Iʼll believe you. As long as you donʼt pass this habit of yours to Riku.”

“Not making any promises,” he smiles, ominously. Leon shudders. 

“Here, your pizza. Go be evil with Riku somewhere else.”

Riku grins widely. “Thank you.”

Leon waves them off as Vanitas grins again. Pissing Leon off is  _ also  _ one of his hobbies, apparently. He follows Vanitas outside to eat, and, hm… this  _ is  _ a pretty ideal moment to ask him out, isn't it? 

Riku sits with him at one of the tables outside and hums. Maybe he could subtly introduce the idea, like to invite him out after they fix his ship  _ again _ . Maybe he could bring up the fact he purposefully breaks some stuff to have an excuse to come visit. A lot of options to choose from. 

“We should date,” Rikuʼs brain settles on saying. What?  _ What?  _ “I—I mean, I think, Iʼd like to ask you—to go on a date with me, yeah.”

Vanitas laughs so hard, Riku feels a bit offended. “Where did this even come from? I mean, I accept, but—what the fuck?” 

“My mouth got ahead of my brain,” Riku laments. “It was going to be a lot smoother.”

“I donʼt know about  _ smooth,  _ coming from the guy who breaks his own Gummi ship to visit.”

“You  _ knew? _ ” Riku puts down his pizza slice. “Thatʼs more humiliating than what I just did!” 

“Pffffft. Of course I didnʼt know! You just admitted to it!” Vanitas laughs evilly again. “Master Riku, you really are something. Our first date better change my whole world, or I will be very disappointed.”

_ Their first date.  _ Riku smiles. “Thatʼs a promise.”

  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!! and happy holidays!! stay safe!!  
> [tumblr](http://joshrikus.tumblr.com/)  
> [twitter](http://twitter.com/joshriku/)  
> 


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